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When
it comes to Flight Simulations, Microprose have proved time and time again that
"nobody does it better!", so I was looking forward to playing this
game long before it finally emerged.
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Back
in the eighties the movie that has spawned this game was one of the most popular
of the time. Sure the plot was predictable: Young up and coming pilot tries to
be the best of the best while trying to forget the death of his best friend and
live up to the reputation of his father (a former ace pilot), oh yeah and at the
same time he is trying to score with his female tactical flight instructor. The
flight sequences were absolutely amazing, partnered with some of the best movie
soundtracks to date and the biggest acting names of the time, made this movie a
sure fire hit, which of course it was!
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The
producers of this game seem to have spent some of their former youth playing "Afterburner"
in the arcades. The look and feel of this game is very similar. The graphics
move with speed and ease during the flight sequences. FMV sections in-between
each mission are good and try hard to add to the atmosphere of the game. As you
progress through the missions it becomes very evident that there is a distinct
lack of variety in the ground scenery, many of the missions feature the same
landscape, even though they are supposed to be based in different places around
the globe. Bearing in mind the storage capacity of the C.D (650MB), I think that
more time could have been spent on this area.
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Both
the music and sound effects are satisfactory for this type of game, but hardly "ground-braking"
in any particular area.
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After
completing flight school, you are given real missions set in Cuba and Korea. The
mission can take place on both land and sea. Additional weapons are awarded as
you progress through the scenarios. The more damage that you take during the
missions, the harder it becomes to control your craft.
If you are a
die-hard flight simulation fan then you will most likely hate this game. Yet
again it has been assumed that all people who like to play console games don't
have the necessary brainpower to handle a "proper" simulation and so
what we have here is little more that a 3D shoot-em-up which happens to be based
around aircraft rather than tanks or space ships. The variety within this game
is negligible, as is the skill needed to pilot your aircraft. This has about the
same long term appeal as a game of space invaders, which may have been fine 15
years ago, but not any more. Software producers must start to produce games that
have some form of longevity designed into them, as it stands you may regret
buying this game a couple of weeks after purchasing it!
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More
of a shoot-em-up than a flight simulation. The levels within this game are very
similar. Sound and music is adequate, but nothing special. Similar in style
and presentation to the old coin-op "After-burner".
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JIM |
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GRAPHICS: |
Average |
If
you love flight simulations then you will probably hate this, however as a
shoot-em-up this game provides good short-term entertainment, if not value for
money. |
SOUND: |
Average |
PLAYABILITY: |
Good |
VALUE: |
Good |
OVERALL 7/10 |
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